Senate Called to Take Action to Prevent "Another" El Faro

Posted on
Jan 20, 2016 7:59am PST

The sinking of the
El Faro last year was a tragedy that has not soon been forgotten. Taking the lives
of all crewmembers on board, the devastating incident has been all the
more frustrating for families due to the little action taken by the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation to prevent similar
tragedies from occurring.

Senator Bill Nelson recently asked the National Transportation Safety Board
to continue their formerly stopped search for El Faro’s data recorder,
one of the most important parts of the sunken vessel that has yet to be
found. He believes this component is critical to determining the cause
of the El Faro sinking, as well as preventing similar tragedies from taking
place. On the other hand, others think this simply isn’t enough.

Further Action Needed to Avoid Future Tragedies

The sinking of the El Faro is believed to be a preventable tragedy by many.
The vessel was old and patched up; most its age are no longer used for
such voyages and it had undergone extensive repairs over the years. The
engine is believed to have experienced trouble, causing the El Faro to
be caught out at sea in the raging waters caused by Hurricane Joaquin.
This is the same hurricane that the ship captain and owners—TOTE
Maritime, Inc.—were aware of before allowing the vessel to take
off on its trip.

“As an attorney representing families of those lost on the El Faro,
I agree: We must take action to prevent future tragedies,” commented
Kurt Arnold in a
recent article published by Jacksonville.com of the
Florida Times-Union.

Attorney Arnold doesn’t believe what has been done so far is really
enough. “Nelson, however, as the ranking member of the Senate Committee
on Commerce, Science & Transportation, has the power to do more,”
he further explained.

How an Outdated Law Has Further Injured El Faro Families

One of the biggest hurdles families have faced after the tragic loss of
their loved ones on the El Faro is TOTE’s blatant attempt to shirk
all responsibility in the incident. The company filed for protection under the
Limited Liability Act of 1851: a law that is more than a century and a half old. If TOTE is given relief
under this antiquated law, they could limit their liability in the El
Faro case to around $15 million. That amounts to minimal compensation
between the families of the crew.

This is not the first time Attorney Arnold has seen such actions from maritime
industry companies. “Because of outdated admiralty laws, families
of a worker killed on the job at seas are entitled to substantially less
than a worker on land. As a result, profit-driven companies like TOTE
are more likely to cut corners and subject workers to riskier conditions,”
he was quoted saying.

Nelson is aware of the fact that these types of liability caps are simply
unfair. In fact, he filed legislation designed to help individuals injured
in an Amtrak derailment, effectively overturning a measure passed by Congress
that had previously limited the company’s liability in such accidents.
Nelson has even commented on the issue, saying “We can’t allow
anyone to suffer additionally due to an outdated cap based on mid-1990’s
dollars.” This was a reference to a law that is 18 years old. Compare
that to the 165-year-old Limited Liability Act of 1851, and by Nelson’s
own logic, it is time for further action.

The Death of the Fairness in Admiralty and Maritime Law Act

In 2010, Sen. Jay Rockefeller noticed the outdated nature of maritime laws.
He introduced a new bill, known as the Fairness in Admiralty and Maritime
Law Act in 2010 after the devastating Deepwater Horizon disaster. This
bill would have updated these outdated maritime laws and further protected
workers and families. Unfortunately, the bill died when sent to the Committee
on Commerce, Science and Transportation—the very committee that
Nelson is a part of.

If Nelson and his committee truly want to prevent maritime disasters like
the sinking of the El Faro from happening again, it is time to recognize
the role of maritime companies in such accidents. By updating laws like
the Limited Liability Act of 1851, these companies will be held more accountable
and forced to create safer work environments—something that is unfortunately
too late for families of the El Faro crew, but not the rest of the maritime industry.

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